NBC will air its top-rated "The Voice" in the fall for the first time, paired on Mondays with the ambitious new J.J. Abrams' drama "Revolution." It will also air "The Voice" on Tuesdays, to be followed by a new hour of comedy, and will move the low-rated Thursday comedies "Whitney," and "Community" to Fridays, creating another new comedy block.
NBC made the scheduling announcements Sunday, the day before its upfront presentation to advertisers of its 2012-13 schedule. It also revealed the timeslots for several shows it has ordered to series in the past week, and officially renewed "The Office," its highest-rated scripted show.
It passed on a Sarah Silverman comedy, as well as Roseanne Barr's "Downwardly Mobile," which would have reunited her with "Roseanne" co-star John Goodman.
The fall airing for "The Voice" was long expected given that the show is NBC's top-rated program, aside from NFL football. (TheWrap first reported it in February.) The big question was what show NBC would air after it, in the plum spot that was given to "Smash" when the shows started airing on Mondays in February. "Revolution" (photo above) got the Monday spot, in what seems a strong show of faith in the series co-created by "Supernatural" creator Eric Kripke. It features an ensemble cast that includes "Breaking Bad" villain Giancarlo Esposito, and imagines a world where all sources of energy suddenly disappear.
On Tuesday, "The Voice" will be followed by the new Matthew Perry comedy "Go On," and "The New Normal," from "Glee" veterans Ryan Murphy and Allison Adler.
The move to Friday for "Whitney" and "Community" reflects a longtime network strategy -- at least in the case of "Community" -- of moving shows with small but devoted audiences to the little-watched night. The idea is that fans of such shows will follow them anywhere. But there's also hope on Fridays, where the fantasy drama "Grimm" was a surprise success for NBC this season. The show will keep its 9 p.m. timeslot, airing after the two comedies.
"People usually think that Friday is a bad place to be, but we're really excited about Friday, especially with 'Grimm,' which has really taken root at 9 o'clock," NBC entertainment president Bob Greenblatt told TheWrap. He said he hoped that "Whitney" and "Community" could be "a beachhead for comedies" on Friday, a night NBC has recently limited to drama and the comedic drama "Chuck," which just aired its final season.
Though NBC ordered the series "Hannibal," an update on the "Silence of the Lambs" villain, earlier this year, it isn't on the fall schedule. Because NBC ordered it without a pilot, the show will begin shooting all at once in July, for midseason airing. The role of Hannibal Lecter has yet to be cast. "Smash" will also return in midseason.
NBC's new fall shows include the dramas "Chicago Fire," from "Law & Order" executive producer Dick Wolf, and the sitcoms “Animal Practice” and “Guys with Kids." Its midseason series include "Do No Harm," and “Infamous," and the comedies "Save Me,” “1600 Penn” and “Next Caller.”
